1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with improved roadway crack sealing apparatus which comprises a mobile vehicle with a forward crack sealing assembly including respective fill (e.g., sand) and sealant (e.g., asphalt emulsion or cement) hoppers cooperatively located so that the sealing assembly presents a sighting passageway permitting an apparatus operator to visually locate and follow an elongated roadway crack during forward movement of the vehicle. More particularly, the invention pertains to such apparatus and corresponding methods wherein the sealing assembly is designed to initially apply a particulate fill into the crack, followed by sealant and a top coating of additional fill; preferably, a broom-type finishing assembly is also provided.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Roadway cracks are a constant problem to municipal and state transportation authorities. Unless such cracks are rather promptly filled and sealed as weather permits, they may widen into more significant fissures or potholes. Known roadway crack-filling operations typically involve the use of a truck-mounted kettle or tank containing crack-filling material such as an asphalt emulsion. Applicator brushes, swabs or similar expedients may be dipped into the tank and then onto the roadway defects, as the tank is moved along the road. Alternately, some operations use hoses leading from such a mobile tank to an applicator wand which is operated manually to apply crack-filling material into irregular defects or cracks. After the flowable crack filling material is applied, sand or aggregate is generally applied by a following dump truck and workers who shovel and/or brush the sand or aggregate. Such operations are inherently labor-intensive, requiring a crew of four or more workers. Moreover, production rates are typically low, owing to the fact that the rate is only as fast as the slowest crew member.
A number of specialized repair machines have been proposed in the past, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,232,306, 5,006,012, 5,263,790, 5,419,654, 4,511,284, 4,676,689 and 894,859. In most cases, such equipment is very expensive because it is entirely purpose-built. Hence, while the equipment may be useful during the season where crack sealing operations are most intense, during some seasonal periods the equipment stands idle. Furthermore, these prior proposals have not adequately provided efficient, high speed and high quality crack sealing as they require labor-intensive crack filling and sealing.
There is accordingly a need in the art for improved roadway crack sealing apparatus which can, if desired, be removably mounted upon a multiple-use vehicle such as a skid steer unit, and which allows efficient roadway crack sealing using only a minimum of crew members.